Jesse meet Grace
by Angel of Times Past
Summary: Jesse goes back to the spring and sees Winnie....or maybe not. **I KNOW I spelled Jesse's name wrong!** **I FINALLY UPDATED!!!!!! I finished this one, finally! R/R!**
1. The Begining

There was a long road that twisted about and led off into the woods. Tall pine trees, mixed with various other types dotted the hilly landscape. The scent of wheat drifted in the warm summer breeze. A teenage girl that looked to be about 16 or 17 was kneeling beside an azalea bush, smelling a bright pink bud. She picked it and placed it in her long braid.  
  
Every year, at about this time, one could see the girl walking down the curving road to some unknown destination, whistling a quite tune. No one knew her name, for she did not live in the small town of Treegap that lay nearby.  
  
Confident this time that she would find what she was looking for, the girl whistled a bit louder and walked a bit faster. She followed the road for some distance and then turned off into a thicker part of the wood.  
  
Even if no one else knew, the girl knew right where she was going. She walked a short distance until she reached the middle of the wood. There was a single tree standing in the center; it was the largest tree in the whole of the woods by far.  
  
She walked to it and ran her finger along an indention shaped like a T in the trunk. Much of the tree's roots were exposed so she sat on a rather large one. There were also some stones at the base of the tree sitting in water. She began to move them aside to drink some of the water when she heard a voice behind her.  
  
"I knew you'd come back, Winnie Foster," it said.  
  
The girl, whom the voice assumed was Winnie Foster, turned and saw a tall slender boy emerging from the wood.  
  
"I'm not Winnie," the girl replied, still holding the cool water in the hands. "I'm her daughter."  
  
"Oh," he said sounding a bit disappointed. "I'm sorry. I'll be going now." He turned to leave.  
  
"Wait," 'Winnie Foster' said. "Are you Jessie?  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I'm Grace. Winnie was my mother."  
  
"What do you mean 'was'?"  
  
"She died when I was 6."  
  
"Oh, no. No." Jessie was trying to hide tears. "I told her to wait and that I'd be back. I guess I waited too long. I loved her. I thought she loved me, too."  
  
"She did. She spoke about you a lot."  
  
"How old was she when she.died?"  
  
"32. The pneumonia took her real quick. She didn't suffer long."  
  
"No. Why Winnie?" Jessie asked no one in particular.  
  
"She loved you, in many ways, till the day she died." Grace felt sorry for Jessie and was doing everything she could think of to make him feel better.  
  
"I told her that," he paused, "25 years ago."  
  
"What?"  
  
"That I'd love her till the day I died." Jessie smiled through his tears, "You see, I can't die." He glanced at the water.  
  
"So it is true? The thing with the water and you falling out of a tree? It's all true." Grace was also looking at the water. She turned to look at Jessie, but he was gone.  
  
* * *  
  
Jessie Tuck tore through the woods; tears streaming down his face. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't control them.  
  
He ran for what seemed like hours until he reached a small house very far away from the wood. His brother Miles had been leading the horse to the pond for a drink of water when he saw Jessie come running.  
  
Jessie ignored Miles and ran into the house and up to his loft-bedroom. His mother Mae had been in the kitchen when he ran through.  
  
Mae dropped the dishrag she was using and hurried to see about her son. "Jessie! What's wrong?"  
  
"I went back to the spring, Ma." He was still crying but more controlled now. "Winnie's daughter was there and.and." He just couldn't finish his sentence.  
  
"She didn't drink it, did she?" Mae asked but had a feeling that she knew what the answer would be. Jessie simply buried his head in her shoulder.  
  
About that time, Miles came in to see what all the commotion was about.  
  
Miles looked puzzled and glanced from Mae to Jessie and back to Mae.  
  
"Winnie," Mae said in answer to his silent question. It was amazing how such a small, two-syllable word could have so much emotion behind it and mean so much, for Miles understood perfectly.  
  
Miles walked to the bed and patted Jessie on the shoulder. "I know how you feel Jess, I know how you feel.  
  
Angus Tuck, the boy's father, walked in and immediately knew what was happening. "Good girl, she was," Tuck said. 


	2. This isn't chapter but a thanks and mor...

~*This is NOT a chapter.*~ Just a short thanks to those of you who were nice enough to review. :-)  
Frankieshottie: I'm glad you thihk it's so good! I'm kinda stuck right now (doncha hate writers block?) but school gets out in 2 weeks so i'll work on it more then.   
Aces are Wild: Possibly, dunno yet. Do you think there should be?  
Kris Yamaki: Thanks, "Kris" It's okay, you can pat him on the head... (Don't smack yourself! It'll make you have more writers block than usual...)  
Adelaide: Yeah, I know I spelled his name wrong and I promised I'd fix it. (I just haven't gotten 'round to it yet...) Other than that, how was it?  
  
Y'all, I'm so sorry that it's takin' me so long to post. I've got a major case of writer's block. That's one reason I usually wait til I'm finished with the fic to post any of it. I might take this one down and finish it then repost it with a new name. If you've got any ideas for a plot or title or anything pretaining (sp?) to this, ('specially you "Kris") email me at Grace892002@aol.com I'd 'preciate it. Thanks for reading and reviewing!!!  
  
~*Angel of Times Past*~ 


	3. The End

Mae was piling pancakes on their plates that night when Jesse finally emerged from his bedroom.  
  
"Jesse? Look. I made pancakes. They're your favorite," Mae smiled meekly.  
  
"I'm not hungry," Jesse sat at the table and poked at the large stack of them with his fork.  
  
Mae sat down and asked Tuck to say grace. After he did so, they began to eat. Jesse still did not touch his food but gazed out the window.  
  
*** Grace stood in the clearing wondering where Jesse had gone, the hot afternoon sun looking down upon her. She looked around a moment and spotted a well-traveled path. She began to follow it.  
  
She had been walking for a long time when a lake and small house came into view. Saying in the water, there was a small two-person boat tied to a low hanging branch. A freshly chopped pile of wood with an ax still lying beside it could be seen, too.  
  
Grace smiled as she looked at this wonderful place that her mother had described so vividly. It was exactly as it was in the stories her mother had told her as a child. It brought back the fondest memories of Winnie to her.  
  
She decided that she would stay in the woods until it was a bit darker.  
  
*** "Jess, not eating won't help. I promise," Miles insisted.  
  
"I said I'm not hungry," he snapped back.  
  
"Leave him be, Miles," Tuck said.  
  
Jesse was still starring out the window when he suddenly snapped back to reality. "I just saw something move outside the window!"  
  
Jesse jumped out of the chair and ran to the door.  
  
Grace was huddled under the window, hoping he wouldn't see her.  
  
"Grace!"  
  
She stood and smiled, "I wanted to see you again."  
  
"Come inside, child," Mae said from the door.  
  
"You must be Mae?" Winnie asked her.  
  
Mae smiled and nodded. "You look just like your mother.  
  
"Are you hungry, dear?" Mae continued.  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
Mae fixed up a plate for Grace who was sitting by Jesse.  
  
"Tomorrow," he said, "I'm gonna show you everything, everything I showed Winnie."  
  
"I'd like that. I've heard so much about you and this place."  
  
*** Jesse lay in his cot thinking when Miles whispered to him. "Are you awake?"  
  
"Yeah. I was thinking about Grace."  
  
"She's just like Winnie! She even looks just like her."  
  
"Yeah. It's like looking 25 years into the past. I loved her so much." Jesse was thankful that it was dark because a tear was trying to escape his eye.  
  
"You love Grace, too. I can tell."  
  
"I just met her."  
  
"But she reminds you of Winnie and you can't help but think she is Winnie."  
  
"I guess you're right," the tear slipped down his cheek and fell onto the sheet.  
  
"Where are you gonna take her tomorrow?"  
  
"Everywhere. I want to get to know her; see if she really is like Winnie."  
  
"Well, if you're going everywhere, then you need to get some sleep," Miles suggested.  
  
Jesse smiled as more tears fell.  
  
*** The sunrise was beautiful; Jesse and Grace were right there to see it, too. Jesse had not changed his mind about taking Grace everywhere. First he would go to the Eiffel Tower. Then they would swim at the waterfall below it. From there was the meadow. Then to the pond for a quiet talk. That was the extent of his plans; he would let his heart led the way from there.  
  
"Where are you taking me?" Grace asked, as she was lead by the hand into the woods.  
  
"The Eiffel Tower," he looked back at her and smiled.  
  
"Two feet taller then the one in Paris?" she asked returning his smile.  
  
"You are just like your mother. And yes, two feet."  
  
The rocks were fairly steep, though Grace didn't have any trouble scaling them. When they reached the summit, Grace was breathless. The view was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. All she could see for miles was trees. "My Eiffel Tower," Jesse sighed.  
  
"Beautiful," Grace whispered.  
  
"Yes, you are." Jesse wasn't looking at the view that he had see thousands of times, he was looking at the angel that he had brought to see it.  
  
"Do you swim?" Jesse asked.  
  
"Hum? Oh, yes," Grace said as if coming out of a trance.  
  
"Then, I have something else to show you."  
  
He led her off the Eiffel Tower to the waterfall near by. "Come on." He pulled his shirt off and dove into the cool wetness. Grace followed not even bothering to take anything off.  
  
Jesse couldn't help but think of Winnie as they floated together. Grace sent a wave of water toward him, which began a splash fight. After a while of splashing, they were thoroughly soaked. Jesse reached around Grace and held her in his arms.  
  
"Jesse," Grace whispered in his ear. "I think I love you."  
  
They kissed under the falls. When they separated, Jesse smiled, "I love you, too."  
  
The rest of the day went something like that with a kiss or two here and there.  
  
It was late in the afternoon when they reached the oak tree in the middle of the wood where they met. Jesse removed the rocks and drank some of the water. When he was finished, he stood and walked to Grace. "What are you doing for the rest of my life?"  
  
"Do you want me to drink the water?"  
  
"Not if you don't want to. I want you to do what you think is best for you. Not me.  
  
"Just remember you'll be sacrificing your life for me. You can't get your life back once you give it up. It's like being stuck in time, right where you are. You don't have to give your life up just for me," Jesse said.  
  
"Would you like it if I did give it all up for you?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess so I mean."  
  
"I've been thinking about this for sometime now. You just made up my mind, though."  
  
"I told you I don't want to force you to do-" Jesse stopped.  
  
Grace had knelt by the pool of water and was holding it in her hands to drink. "I love you, Jesse." She drank it. "Now we can see the real Eiffel Tower together."  
  
Jesse smiled. "That and so much more."  
  
The End 


	4. Thanks, readers!

I just wanna thank y'all so much for reviewing and being so supportive. It really brightens up my day when I check my email and I have a Review Alert email. If it weren't for y'all encouraging me so much to continue this fic, I probably wouldn't have. In my opinion, this is one of the worst fics I've ever done but obviously y'all don't think so. This fic has the most reviews I've ever had. Self-advertisement: If you liked this, read some of my other stuff! ^_^ I love reviews, just to letcha know. Thanks!!!!  
  
Personal Thanks to the Readers:  
  
Jessica 2003-05-17 1 Anonymous  
  
err...this is confusing since Winnie died when she was like 100 (I think something like that)  
  
Sorry it's confusing. In the book she was only 30 something. I was going by the book, thanks for reviewing, BTW!  
  
hannirose 2003-05-16 2 Signed OOh! I like this story so far. It's really good. (see I took your advice and am reading your Tuck ficcy1) PLEASE continue asap, this is very good, I like your style of writing.  
  
Well, thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you took my advice. Glad you like my style of writing, too! Thanks for reviewing, BTW!  
  
Maddie 2003-05-08 2 Anonymous u didn't spell Jesse wrong it is spelled J-E-S-S-E good fic BTW!  
  
Glad you like it. In the first chapter I did spell his name wrong. (I spelled it J-E-S-S-I-E) I was going to change it but then I realized that if I did I'd loose all my wonderful reviews! Thanks for reviewing, BTW!  
  
Frankieshottie 2003-04-09 1 Anonymous PUHLEASE continue it is SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO (x10) good! hurry i'm about to burst!  
  
I'm glad you like it so (10x) much! I posted the end of it earlier. Thanks for reviewing, BTW!  
  
Aces are Wild 2003-04-02 1 Signed Any more?  
  
Yeah, there is more. (I just posted the end of it.) Hope you like it. Thanks for reviewing, BTW.  
  
Kris Yamaki 2003-04-01 1 Signed *sniffs* Poor Jesse! I wanna pat him on the head... *slaps herself* Sorry, went into fangirl mode on you for a moment there. ^^; I can't wait for the next chapter!  
  
I'm so glad that I had so much impact on you, Kris. S'okay if you go into to fangirl mode, I don't mind. ^_^ Glad you liked it. Thanks for reviewing, BTW!  
  
Adelaide 2003-03-26 1 Anonymous Arg, you spelled the guy's name wrong! It's Jesse, not Jessie.  
  
As I said, so sorry I spelled it wrong. I'd take the chapter down and fix it but then I'd loose all these wonderful reviews. Hope you liked it. Thanks for reviewing, BTW!  
  
Angel of Times Past 2003-03-26 1 Signed a/n I KNOW I spelled Jesse wrong. I'll fix that later! ~_*Angel of Times Past 


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